Bobby Samini, attorney for Donald Sterling, talks to the media outside Los Angeles Superior court Wednesday. A trial has been scheduled for July in Los Angeles probate court to determine whether Donald Sterling was properly removed as an administrator for the family trust that owns the Clippers. NICK UT, AP

Bobby Samini, attorney for Donald Sterling, talks to the media outside Los Angeles Superior court Wednesday. A trial has been scheduled for July in Los Angeles probate court to determine whether Donald Sterling was properly removed as an administrator for the family trust that owns the Clippers. NICK UT, AP

LOS ANGELES – On May 19, Dr. Meril Sue Platzer presented Donald Sterling with a set of basic tasks.

She asked him to spell “world” backward. He could not. She asked him to count backward from 100 in increments of seven, and he failed to get past 93.

He was unaware of the season and struggled to draw a clock.

Donald Sterling’s mental capacity will be at the center of a hearing that will determine whether Shelly Sterling can sell the Clippers without her estranged husband’s approval.

The details of Platzer’s findings are part of a flood of documents filed Wednesday as attorneys for Shelly Sterling seek confirmation for her to carry out the sale.

A four-day hearing is scheduled to begin July 7 at Los Angeles Superior Court, with Shelly Sterling attempting to confirm her place as the lone trustee of the Sterling Family Trust – a role that would give her unilateral power to sell the Clippers.

Shelly Sterling’s position alone atop of the trust comes from two significant events.

On Dec. 18, 2013, the Sterlings revised the trust, with Donald Sterling agreeing to the terms, “specifically including those terms and conditions of service imposed pursuant to Paragraph 7.5.c."

Paragraph 7.5.c. in the trust details the protocols for removal of an individual from the trust due to mental incapacity.

By signing the agreement, Donald Sterling agreed to “cooperate in any examination reasonably appropriate” and to waive doctor-patient privilege with respect to those results.

According to the filings, Donald Sterling was examined twice, first by Platzer and later by Dr. James E. Spar, a professor specializing in geriatric psychiatry at UCLA.

Both physicians concluded Sterling is suffering from “cognitive impairment.”

Of his examination May 27, Spar wrote that Sterling acknowledged forgetting “names and streets” and occasionally getting confused upon exiting an elevator.

While administering a connect-the-dots test that asks the patient to alternate between numbers and letters, Sterling became frustrated. Spar wrote that Sterling said “I can’t do it” and that he “threw the pen down and left the room.”

While Sterling was otherwise cooperative, Spar concluded “he is substantially unable to manage his finances and resist fraud and undo influence and is no longer competent to act as trustee of his trust.”

A third doctor, Dr. Stephen L. Read, confirmed the findings, which also included evidence of Alzheimer’s disease following a brain scan May 16.

Bobby Samini, an attorney for Donald Sterling, called the medical evidence a “sham.”

“He’s very sharp,” Samini said.

Before being diagnosed with cognitive impairment, Donald Sterling failed to designate a successor should he cease being able to serve, allowing for Shelly to be the lone acting trustee.

Details of Shelly Sterling’s post-sale role were also clarified, as the binding term sheet was included in the court filing.

As part of her deal with Steve Ballmer, Shelly Sterling can retain up to 10 percent of the team, though that portion of the franchise would be donated to charity. While the term sheet states a charity must be picked by June 15, a source familiar with the deal said that date is flexible.

Shelly Sterling also has the option to sell 100 percent of the team, something she indicates she’ll do in the court filings unless she receives written consent from Donald Sterling or a court order.

As terms of the sale, Shelly will receive 12 tickets – two courtside – for every Clippers game at Staples Center, including road games against the Lakers. She’ll also get six parking spaces, 12 VIP passes and three championship rings should the Clippers win an NBA title.

She also retains the titles of “Owner Emeritus” and “Clippers’ Number 1 Fan.”

All benefits will exist for the remainder of her life.

As part of the deal, Shelly Sterling has also agreed to indemnify Ballmer in any lawsuits brought by her husband pertaining to the sale.

Clippers vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks, director of basketball administration Eric Miller (the Sterlings’ son-in-law) and senior vice president of marketing and sales Carl Lahr would also receive two-year employment contracts under the deal.

Attorneys for Shelly Sterling, the NBA and Ballmer all attended Wednesday’s filing.

O’Donnell argued the hearing needed to be expedited because of a July 15 deadline to close the sale of the team. O’Donnell’s colleague, Marc Stern, wrote in a filing that the sale of the team can be extended a month and Ballmer could extend it further. But the NBA requires the deal to be done before Sept. 15, at which point the league would reinstate proceedings to “seize” the team and conduct a sale.

O’Donnell also said the league could vote to approve Ballmer as an owner July 15 during a Board of Governors meeting.

A pre-hearing meeting is scheduled for June 23.

The issue could still be resolved out of court if Donald Sterling were to agree to the sale, though he and his attorneys have adamantly denied any interest in doing so.

Now, Donald and Shelly Sterling are headed for a showdown in court, with the time and venue set and more unpleasant details sure to follow.

“This is bittersweet for Mrs. Sterling,” O’Donnell said. “She’s reluctantly on this path.”

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